"The official way is to have an alligator on its stomach and have someone pulling on its nose a little bit and pulling on its tail to get it real straight," he told ABC. Chalk then marks each end of the creature.

The largest wild gator ever caught in Florida was 14 feet, 3.5 inches (four metres), according to state records.

Godwin told WPBF Tuesday that the alligator was at the taxidermist, where it would be stuffed and mounted so its official length could be assessed.